In this week’s news from the light rail sector – International Women’s Day is celebrated in Nottingham, Edinburgh and the West Midlands, St Patrick’s Day Services on Luas, plans for a new DLR station, and work starts on VLR test track in Coventry.
UKTram
A vehicle donated by UKTram recently played a vital role at an event showcasing decarbonisation in the transport sector at the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre.
Tram 16 is now used as a testbed for innovative technology at the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation (BCIMO) facility in Dudley and was integral to the success of a demonstration day organised as part of the Clean Futures Accelerator Programme. To read more, click here.
NET
According to Women in Transport, just 26% of people working in the transport sector are women. But, to mark International Women’s Day, four women who work at NET hope to break down stereotypes of their workplace and roles and inspire others to pursue any career they wish by sharing their stories.
To read their stories, click here.
West Midlands Metro
In celebration of International Women’s Day 2025, West Midlands Metro hosted a special event to honour the contributions of female colleagues, acknowledging their crucial role within the business and the wider community.
The event focused on exploring ways to create more opportunities for women within the organisation and the communities it serves, in line with this year’s IWD theme, #Accelerate Change.
Sophie Allison, Managing Director of Metro and the organisation’s first female leader expressed her pride in the tram network’s commitment to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusivity, and you can read more here.
Edinburgh Trams
Light rail is often seen as quite a male-dominated environment, but at Edinburgh Trams, female colleagues are living examples that couldn’t be further from the truth!
Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, Service Delivery Sarah Singh, Training Manager Marlene Pearson-McGrath, Revenue Protection Manager Catriona Anderson, and Tram Driver Kira Sutter talked about their experience within the sector.
The interviews will be shared online as part of a series throughout the month and you can find out more here.
DLR
Thames Wharf DLR station would be built between Canning Town station and West Silvertown station, local media reports. The station has been proposed to serve the Thameside West residential development scheme, and would sit next to where the Silvertown Tunnel emerges north of the river.
In 2023, Transport for London (TfL) said that it did not have the funding to progress plans for the new station beyond its “current stage of development” and you can read the full story on the East London Advertiser website here.
Luas
On St. Patrick’s Day, Bank Holiday Monday (March 17) there will be some changes to Luas services to accommodate the parade.
Services on both the Red and Green Lines will run Sunday Operating Hours and Frequency and there will also be temporary partial closures of the Red and Green Lines to facilitate the parade.
There will be no Red Line trams running between Smithfield and Connolly / The Point from 10:00 to 15:00 approx. Red Line trams will run between Tallaght / Saggart and Smithfield only during these times, and further details can be found here.
Tyne & Wear Metro
A business case to replace the Tyne and Wear Metro signalling system has been officially submitted to the Government.
The bid backed by North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has been put together by Nexus to make the strong case for investment in signalling.
Major investment, estimated at around £400 million, is required to replace Metro’s original signalling system, which dates from the construction of the system in the 1970s and 80s. Signalling is a safety critical asset on the Tyne and Wear Metro.
The case was submitted to ministers at the end of last year, and it has now been reviewed by the Department for Transport (DfT) transport board and endorsed to move to the next phase of the development process. To read more, click here.
VLR
Work on installing a new on road test track to showcase the revolutionary Very Light Rail technology has started in Coventry city centre.
The 220 metre demonstration track is designed to show how the pioneering transport system can be delivered faster and at a much lower cost than traditional tramways. It is due to be completed ready of on road tests in the summer.
The track is being installed by Colas Rail UK under contract from Coventry City Council – which is leading the ground-breaking project and you can find out more here.
To be included in the next round-up or the Members News section of the UKTram website, send your press releases to info@uktram.co.uk
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